S&P 500 wavers after Trump trade comments, Nvidia hits Nasdaq

(Reuters) – The S&P 500 swung between gains and losses on Friday following conflicting reports on a U.S. trade deal with China, while weakness in chipmaker Nvidia weighed on the Nasdaq. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid President Donald Trump said the United States may not have to impose further tariffs on China, but added the situation was still not acceptable to him. Stocks have been volatile as differing reports on the outcome of talks expected between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the sidelines of a G20 summit in Argentina later this month kept investors on edge. Wall Street opened lower after disappointing earnings from chip companies and retailers as well as Brexit-related concerns. Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) fell 19.1 percent after the chip designer blamed unsold chips piling up as the cryptocurrency mining boom fizzles out. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX was down 1.5 percent and technology stocks .SPLRCT fell 0.2 percent. “You have this macro backdrop that is shifting and changing and it’s meeting somewhat disappointing earnings from the tech sector and that is causing further volatility,” said Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Taking some pressure off the markets were comments from new Federal Reserve vice chair Richard Clarida about U.S. interest rates nearing the central bank’s estimates of a neutral rate. Analysts said Clarida’s comments suggested that the Fed may be nearing the… [Read full story]